Reviewed by Carolyn Martinez
Torn Apart: The Abduction of Gillian Curtis
by Marta Sprout
StormRider Publishing
Paperback: 334 pages, August 1, 2013, ISBN-13: 978-0985797300
Torn Apart: The Abduction of Gillian Curtis by Marta Sprout is fast-paced, modern, relevant, fun and an interesting exploration of the unpredictability of the human character. It is an easy read – a good suspenseful thriller with well-timed comic relief throughout. The lead characters: Gillie and Walter, hold the reader’s interest until the satisfying conclusion. When one imagines a 16-year old girl being kidnapped it’s easy to visualise a scared, submissive child. Not Gillie. She’s got spunk; sarcasm born from circumstances that have made her so unhappy that immediately preceding her kidnap she wants to die. This results in a baffling crime scene for police. Just what are they dealing with here – a runaway or a kidnap?
Ex-vietnam vet, Walter Lovett, holds the reader’s interest from the moment of his first kindness towards the smart-mouthed 16 year-old. Both characters find themselves in a situation they couldn’t have imagined in their wildest dreams: sitting down to dinner together just hours after the kidnap. Are they friends of foes?
Lines are crossed, and as the story unravels the true enemy reveals itself.
The author doesn’t quite deliver the complex character development that could have been achieved with the scintillating story line, however, what she does deliver is a heartwarming, fun tale about the people who come into our lives when we least expect it and how they can embed themselves in our hearts.
Torn Apart is hard to put down, easy to read, and will leave you satisfied, but not challenged.
About the reviewer: Carolyn Martinez is the author of Inspiring IVF Stories and the President of the Hunter Writers Centre, New South Wales. She is the former owner/editor of The Westerner newspaper, and has a Master of Arts (Writing) through Swinburne University. She consults in corporate communications, and is currently writing her second book, Finding Love Again.